Decentralisation Programme.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 June 2004

Wednesday, 2 June 2004

Questions (103, 104, 105, 106, 107)

John Bruton

Question:

95 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he has had a risk assessment carried out on possible consequential risks to the effectiveness of services provided by each Department or agency under his aegis which is to relocate under the Government’s decentralisation programme; if not, the reason therefor; and if so, if the risk assessment will be published, furnished to the Comptroller and Auditor General and accessible under the Freedom of Information Act 1997. [16844/04]

John Bruton

Question:

98 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will take steps to ensure that the annual report of his Department will contain a risk assessment of decentralisation, as it affects his Department or agencies under its aegis, dealing with strategic, operational, financial and reputational risks as set out in paragraph 6.31 of the Mullarkey report. [16889/04]

Trevor Sargent

Question:

102 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the deleterious effect on morale of the staff of his Department caused by the uncertainty arising from the proposed relocation of his Department’s offices and by the proposed location of his Department’s headquarters; if his attention has further been drawn to the decreased morale; the measures he intends to take to improve morale; if he was consulted about the proposed location of his Department’s headquarters; the views he has expressed on this; if he has consulted with his staff about the proposed location; if he considers that the staff of his Department are justified to be unsatisfied with the proposals, particularly in view of the co-operation given by the staff during the foot and mouth crisis and the Irish Presidency of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16954/04]

Billy Timmins

Question:

103 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the deleterious effect on morale on the staff of his Department caused by the uncertainty arising from the proposed relocation of his Department’s offices and the proposed location of his Department’s headquarters; his views on the decreased morale; the measures he intends to take to improve morale; if he was consulted with respect to the proposed location of his Departments headquarters; the views he has expressed on this; if he has consulted his staff on the proposed location; his views on whether the staff of his Department are justified to be unsatisfied with the proposals, particularly in view of the co-operation given by the staff during the foot and mouth crisis and the Irish Presidency of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16958/04]

John Bruton

Question:

104 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Secretary General has tendered advice to him in pursuance of his personal responsibility as Secretary General under public financial procedures for economy and efficiency in the administration of his Department on the impact in the short or long-term on the economy and the efficiency of administration of his Department or its agencies arising from the Government’s proposals for decentralisation. [16962/04]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 95, 98 and 102 to 104, inclusive, together.

The Government announced the details of its decentralisation programme in December last year. The decentralisation implementation group, DIG, chaired by Mr. Phil Flynn presented its initial report to Government on 31 March 2004. In this report the DIG requested that all Departments produce an implementation plan by the end of May. My Department's plan has in recent days been finalised and submitted to the DIG. The State bodies under the aegis of my Department are requested to prepare and submit their own individual implementation plans. Since the announcement of the decision to decentralise, my Department has consulted with its staff and kept them informed of all developments on an ongoing basis. This has been achieved through the Department's partnership committees — the departmental council and bilateral discussions with individual trade unions. Also a decentralisation unit has been established and a dedicated site has been created on the Department's Intranet, e-zone, to keep staff appraised of developments.

I am satisfied that these measures have led to the morale of my staff being maintained and it is worth reiterating the fact that the programme is voluntary. It is anticipated that many staff of my Department will apply to transfer to a decentralisation location in this and other Departments-agencies under the central applications facility, CAF. The CAF which was launched recently by the Civil Service Commission will facilitate further the planning of the decentralisation process and the initial information from the CAF will be submitted to the DIG. next month which in turn will make detailed recommendations to Government on the timetable for the various aspects of the programme as a whole.

My Department established an implementation committee which is headed by an Assistant Secretary to oversee all aspects of the programme. This committee is considering all aspects of the decentralisation process and will report on the key issues to the Secretary General and myself. I am satisfied that all the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that the decentralisation process is implemented in an economic and efficient manner for the administration of the services provided by my Department. This committee has also commenced the process of identifying and categorising the risks associated with decentralisation. The main risks are expected to come under the headings of service delivery, financial, human resources and accommodation. Proposals to deal with identified risks will be submitted to the Department's risk management committee and the audit committee. This process will be carried out in accordance with our now established procedures for risk management.

My Department's annual report will also deal with the issue of decentralisation along the lines required by the Mullarkey report. Freedom of information requests for access to any information which is not immediately made publicly available for any reason will in the normal course be dealt with under all the provisions of the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003.